Game 13: May 24, 2014 Astros at Mariners

I plan the trips on weekends so that I, and anyone joining me, won't have to choose between skipping work and going on the trip. Well, in an irony I was offered work this weekend and skipped it to go on my trip. [sigh] I took a Saturday morning United flight up to Seattle and checked in at the Doubletree. Choosing a hotel is a tough proposition for a chaser. I checked in, put my stuff down, and then left until 11 PM. I came back, spent a few minutes on the computer, went to sleep, woke up, showered, and was gone. The Doubletree is a great hotel, but what did I really get for my money that I couldn't get anywhere else.

I definitely think the location was the right call. I got there quickly because it was by the airport. Getting back at night was a little bit of a chore. But when you have an early morning flight, being close was nice. There's one drawback to an airport hotel. I'll get to that in a minute. So keep reading.

A great thing about the location was that it was right by light rail. So it was a piece of cake for me to get into Seattle.

A Seattle friend, who unfortunately wasn't around, recommended Pine Box. The atmosphere wasn't much, but the beer was very good. It was a schlep from the light rail station and afterward I wanted to go back to the hotel and lie down. That wasn't possible, since it'd be a long trip back to the hotel.

It wasn't nearly as long a trip to Pike Place Market. Yes, they throw the fish. It was actually kind of fun. Then I walked to the game. Along the way I saw a couple of Astros fans.

Whenever I see opposing fans I always wonder if they are Texans who lives in Seattle or if they travelled here for the game. If it's the latter, do they follow the team or do they decide that since they want to go to Seattle they might as well go while the Astros are in town. Obviously I'm from out of town and this'd be perfect if my beloved Phillies were always the road team. Thus far, they've been the road team only once, at Wrigley Field. They will be again in St. Louis.

If you walk to the game from the north, you pass Century Link Field and all of these street vendors. I wonder if the teams authorize this.

I got to Safeco early and really enjoyed the wide concourse, good beer selection, and watched batting practice. I like wide concourses because when you go to the game you don't want to be jostling with every other fan while you're walking to the concession stand.

Safeco has a roof. I suppose that's great when it rains, but it means the stadium has little space open to the outside air. They go all the way up three levels in right. Who wants to sit up there?

The Mariners had a lot of fun with Throwback night. They added mustaches and a lot of hair to players' pictures on the scoreboard, played 70's tunes, and even played like the '79 Mariners. Shouldn't you throw back to when you were good? I did like the Mariners' Moose in his leisure suit, even if I didn't get a good picture of it.

The Astros' prized rookie George Springer did enjoy the night too, hitting two home runs as the Astros romped 9-4.